India-England Test series hit by press coverage blackout

AFP, NEW DELHI

Fri, Nov 16, 2012 - Page 19

International news agencies suspended coverage of the Test series between India and England after Indian cricket authorities refused to lift restrictions on photo agencies.

News outlets including Agence France-Presse said they would not be filing any text or pictures from the four-match series after the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) barred photo agencies such as Getty Images and Action Images.

English media organizations such as the Daily Telegraph and the Press Association also said they would support the protest.

“AFP deeply regrets the suspension of coverage of this important Test series as cricket fans will be deprived of stories and photos of the game they love,” the agency’s global news director Philippe Massonnet said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the BCCI has chosen to substitute objective editorial coverage with in-house photography, a dangerous principle that AFP, like other international news agencies, simply cannot accept,” he said.

While the BCCI has only withheld accreditation from photo agencies, other news organizations fear the move sets a dangerous precedent.

The BCCI is to make a limited number of its own images available during the series, which began in Ahmedabad yesterday.

The News Media Coalition, which represents a group of media organizations, has been leading the discussions with the BCCI.

It said other agencies including Reuters and the Associated Press had decided to halt their coverage in text and photo before the British press added their voice to the protests.

“Editors will be angered by this decision of the BCCI and confused by the motives,” said Bob Satchwell, executive director of Britain’s Society of Editors.

“They just want to do the best job they can for their cricket-loving readers by choosing from the best news material. By damaging the ability of the press to cover cricket, the good name of the game also risks damage,” he said.